Purcellville School Debate Might Sway Bid for Mayor

Growth, Taxes Also Factors in Races, Lazaro Says

By Sandhya Somashekhar (Contact)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

• Editor's note: This story is part of the 2008 Voters Guide.

In Purcellville, the town election might hinge on a heated dispute over the location of western Loudoun's next public high school.

But according to Mayor Robert W. Lazaro Jr., who is leading the charge against the county's plan to build the school at Fields Farm just north of town, it will not be the dominant issue when voters go to the polls Tuesday.

"There are a lot of people who are concerned about other things," such as securing water, managing growth and keeping taxes low, Lazaro said. "While it is one of the issues [affecting the town], it is certainly not the most important."

Purcellville voters will decide whether to reelect Lazaro, 50, a communications director for the slow-growth Piedmont Environmental Council, or hand the town's leadership over to Karl R. Phillips, 49, a cartographer and former Town Council member who lost to Lazaro in the 2006 race.

Voters also will cast their ballots to fill three of the other six seats on the Town Council. Two of the three incumbents, C.J. Walker III and Gregory W. Wagner, are seeking reelection. Janet Clarke, who was appointed to the seat vacated by Lazaro when he won his first term in 2006, is not running.

Three of the challengers have aligned themselves on a slate with Phillips, an outspoken critic of Lazaro's handling of the school issue. T. Chris Bledsoe, Tom L. Larry and James R. "Jim" Vogt all support dropping the legal challenges Purcellville has pursued against the county over the school's location.

Lazaro, meanwhile, has endorsed the two incumbents and challenger Joan S. Lehr, who support pursuing the lawsuits.

Lazaro said the town has been struggling in recent years with much more than the county's plan to build western Loudoun's second high school at Fields Farm, a battle that is making its way through the courts.

Because of development over the years and a recent drought, town officials have been working diligently to secure enough water for residents by purchasing water and building wells, Lazaro said. Also under his watch, he said, taxes have gone down despite financial troubles at the county level, and the town has a $2.6 million rainy-day fund.

Phillips has been critical of Lazaro's handling of the budget, and noted that water and sewer rates have risen and may continue to rise as the town builds a new sewage treatment plant. Though Lazaro has said the plant is necessary to meet state pollution standards and accommodate the town's projected growth to a maximum of 7,000 residents, Phillips said he has yet to see proof of those assertions.

In addition, he said, Lazaro's aggressive legal challenges over the school could have far-reaching consequences.

Lazaro has argued that the new school would strain the town's roads and water systems if built at Fields Farm. His greatest objection, however, stems from a 1995 land-use agreement between the town and county that Lazaro said is violated by the school project. By violating the plan, the county could set a dangerous precedent and usher in more development in the area, Lazaro has said.

But Phillips said Lazaro's actions may have unnecessarily delayed a much-needed school, and have certainly poisoned the relationship between the town and county.

"I don't agree with the town fighting the school," said Phillips, who called Fields Farm an "excellent location" for a high school. Moreover, he said, "we have some real transportation issues in Purcellville. We need the county's help, and I don't think we can get much help from the county if we're suing them."

Lazaro said he, too, supports building a school. But Fields Farm is a "lousy" location for it, he said, adding that he might be willing to settle for that site if the county took certain steps to protect the town's rights.

"We are not fighting against the school, we are fighting for the town," Lazaro said. "I'm preserving the equal voice that the citizens in Purcellville have with the county."

Tagged: Mayor Bob Lazaro , politics, Purcellville, Woodgrove High School

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